‘Religion causes wars’. ‘We would all be better off without religion’.

These are phrases that we all probably hear from time to time, and in one sense I agree with them!

The problem today seems to be that religion has become corrupted and is used for wrong political purposes. We have witnessed situations, past and present, in numerous countries, from Syria and Kenya, to Bosnia and Northern Ireland. Many groups appear to use their religion to justify harming others, as if killing or maiming somehow upholds the honour of their religion, or shows their faithfulness to their god.

However in the Bible it says that God is love, and that Jesus is the Prince of Peace. So how can these contradictions be reconciled? What is really going on?

It is not religion which is the problem but the way some interpret their message for misguided purposes. Since God is love, then true followers will try and follow in His nature and be kind and loving and peace makers. So, the evidence speaks for itself in that those who are hostile, causing hurt and suffering in the name of their god, whether it is ‘christianity’ or another of the world’s religions are not of God. It shows that these are fake, fraudulent, power seeking groups that have corrupted the true message of mercy and love.

The bible says that there is only one God, one Creator, that He is love and He is the source of every good thing ( James 1:17). Is there a definition of ‘religion’ in the bible? Well, yes there is … true religion is to care for orphans and widows (James 1:27 and John 15:12). Being kind and looking after others is what really counts (Mark 10:43-45). In fact, the Son of God came, not to take life like many false religious groups, but to sacrifice his own life so that we all, at some point, can have a new start and receive a new and different spirit of love, peace, understanding and joy.

Leading up to and during the 2nd world war the masses of the German population were deceived and mesmerised on a vast scale to support things that were horrific. Today the scales have been removed from the German people and they can now see that this national indoctrination was a deception against all human decency of that generation.

Probably none of us are immune to deception at some level or another. In a similar way the ‘god’ of this world who can seem like an angel of light ( 2 Cor 4:4 and 2 Cor 11:14) will deceive some into thinking that this or that horrendous method is how to be a follower of God. The same spirit of deception can, if we do not guard against it, lead us to wrongly think that being a genuine follower of Christ is also a bad thing. Because the news is filled with the tragedy of false religious causes rather than the everyday kindnesses of true Christians we can be prone to judge them all the same.

The scales of deception need to be lifted so that we can seek and find the true God who has a future for you, who gives out His spirit of kindness, understanding and love. He has defeated death for us by taking on our death (John 3:16-17) …. what a contrast to those who want to hurt others! We have hope, we are loved and we are accepted despite our imperfections, because of Jesus Christ the son of God … don’t let anyone deceive you.

If you are searching, or you would like to know more, then seek a genuine church that preaches love, mercy and acceptance through Jesus Christ. He will give you life in abundance (John 14:5-6 and John 10:7-11).